hoops902
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Post by hoops902 on Nov 21, 2019 11:38:56 GMT -5
www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/airlines-tell-parents-to-pay-up-or-risk-sitting-rows-away-from-their-kids-thats-wrong/ar-BBX2A2s?li=BBnb7KzThe article is about the problem that airlines are charging parents to reserve seats to sit with their young children. Sometimes not seating them together even with reservations. I read it and thought "Is this really a problem?". Some of the reports are about children as young as 1-3. I have a 1-year old and a 3-year old. Seat me far away from them if you want. Between the time we board and the time the plane starts to taxi, I won't have to bother the staff...anyone sitting near my kids will be begging them to change seats. If anything, I might be the one refusing to change seats to sit next to my little monsters. Are there a ton of travelers out there who WANT to keep their seat next to a random 3-year-old without their parents? I guess I just don't see how this happens where nobody is willing to trade seats, and where there are MULTIPLE people who want to sit around a child that young without their parents nearby.
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HoneyBBQ
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Post by HoneyBBQ on Nov 21, 2019 11:50:51 GMT -5
Make stupid rules; suffer stupid repercussions.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Nov 21, 2019 11:52:21 GMT -5
Just another way for airlines to make money off their passengers. It's getting ridiculous.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Nov 21, 2019 11:56:55 GMT -5
Or they want the toddlers to sit on people's laps again for the whole time.
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chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Nov 21, 2019 12:15:08 GMT -5
I think it's more that some airlines are charging more for the "luxury" of an aisle or window seat, and maybe parents don't realize that as they are booking? or, they are scoffing at it - as ANYONE rightly should, because that is just a bullshit business practice - and hoping that travellers will pity them and switch for free.
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justme
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Post by justme on Nov 21, 2019 12:35:59 GMT -5
It's probably not just for aisle/window seat. A lot of the cheap fares charge for ANY seat selection before the 24 hour check-in. And some of the Basic fares don't let you even pay for a seat before check-in.
While I think airlines are getting crazy with their fees -- they're able to get crazy because people want the cheapest ticket they can get. What was once a "normal" fare is now often $100 more per leg than those basic fares, but the people don't want to pay for those fares. And the only reason all the legacy carriers now have basic fares is because people are giving Spirit/Frontier/Allegiant their money. If those airlines weren't getting market share basic fares on legacy carriers would not exist.
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pooks
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Post by pooks on Nov 21, 2019 13:16:50 GMT -5
As a passenger who paid extra to have an assigned seat next to my daughter or husband, I can't say that I would be happy to give up my seat so that someone who didn't pay extra could sit with their 3 year old. It would irritate me, but not to the point where I would want to sit next to a 3 year old.
They have the birth dates for all passengers, they should just require an assigned seat next to an adult for all children younger than something. Either make the assignment free or an added charge.
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tractor
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Post by tractor on Nov 21, 2019 13:34:27 GMT -5
It’s not that they refuse to, it’s that (as others have said), if you go with the cheapest tickets, your seating assignments aren’t made until you are at the gate. The airline doesn’t know if the seat is for a child or an adult.
With that being said, most airlines try to keep parties together, but it doesn’t always work. They always ask if my wife and I want to sit together, and our answer is always the same “We see each other almost every day, why do we have to sit together?”
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Nov 21, 2019 14:56:00 GMT -5
Those low-fare shoppers have ruined air travel.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Nov 21, 2019 16:02:18 GMT -5
I'd pay extra not to have to sit by my kids.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2019 16:17:23 GMT -5
I'd pay extra not to have to sit by my kids. I’m seeing a business opportunity here, an app that matches parents/babysitters on flights so parents can enjoy some peace and quiet en route while the babysitter sits next to their kids.
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Nov 21, 2019 16:46:22 GMT -5
Or they want the toddlers to sit on people's laps again for the whole time.
You could do that when my kids were little, but up to age 2 they would also fly for free. And up to 12 years kids would have full priviledges but fly half price.
Only once was the plane so full that we had our youngest - age 1- on our lap for the entire trip (intercontinental so not short) and even then the flight attendants helped out a lot.
What has always baffled me is that airlines are allowed to overbook. They claim it is because they would lose money otherwise But, if you have a ticket that cannot be changed they already received the money for that seat → they are not out of any money and this overbooking scam just allows them to sell the same item twice and tell one of the "lucky recipients" of a ticket tough luck. This should be 100% illegal IMO
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Nov 21, 2019 19:46:07 GMT -5
Or they want the toddlers to sit on people's laps again for the whole time.
You could do that when my kids were little, but up to age 2 they would also fly for free. And up to 12 years kids would have full priviledges but fly half price.
Only once was the plane so full that we had our youngest - age 1- on our lap for the entire trip (intercontinental so not short) and even then the flight attendants helped out a lot.
What has always baffled me is that airlines are allowed to overbook. They claim it is because they would lose money otherwise But, if you have a ticket that cannot be changed they already received the money for that seat → they are not out of any money and this overbooking scam just allows them to sell the same item twice and tell one of the "lucky recipients" of a ticket tough luck. This should be 100% illegal IMO
They compensate. Not great, but they usually get volunteers to get off and take an additional free flight at a later time.
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steph08
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Post by steph08 on Nov 21, 2019 22:07:52 GMT -5
If I book four tickets on a flight, then I should get four seats that are together. It's not that hard to figure out. I don't want to pay extra for something that is obvious.
It's like a dining reservation - I make reservations for 4 people, I want 4 people at one table. I don't want 4 people at 4 different locations throughout the restaurant.
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Knee Deep in Water Chloe
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Post by Knee Deep in Water Chloe on Nov 21, 2019 23:42:19 GMT -5
Make stupid rules; suffer stupid repercussions. Oh, I didn't realize you taught middle school.
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alabamagal
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Post by alabamagal on Nov 22, 2019 6:59:17 GMT -5
I don’t like some of the airline poor service, they have turned into a pay for service model. The big airlines advertise cheap fares then get you hooked in and upgrade by going up to next class. Last time I looked the cheap fare did not include choosing seats, checked bag or even carryon. I can’t imagine anyone traveling with a small child is going to travel with only a small purse. So get the $40 more which gets you seat selection and a bag. Or you can book the super cheap airlines ( like Fronteir) that sometimes have one flight per day and one problem and you can be stuck without a flight.
It’s like complaining about staying in a Motel 6 and saying they had crappy towels.
On the upside, airline fares are so much cheaper than in the past. When I was in college I could not afford the $800 fares from Atlanta to Miami (that is in mid80s$). Now I can easily get a fare for $200, or $250 if I want to pick my seat.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Nov 22, 2019 9:08:58 GMT -5
If I book four tickets on a flight, then I should get four seats that are together. It's not that hard to figure out. I don't want to pay extra for something that is obvious. It's like a dining reservation - I make reservations for 4 people, I want 4 people at one table. I don't want 4 people at 4 different locations throughout the restaurant. I'm fine with that. I think they should give all the services back, and charge $100 more for every ticket. If a bunch of low rent broke ass bitches can't fly - even better.
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hoops902
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Post by hoops902 on Nov 22, 2019 9:23:07 GMT -5
If I book four tickets on a flight, then I should get four seats that are together. It's not that hard to figure out. I don't want to pay extra for something that is obvious. It's like a dining reservation - I make reservations for 4 people, I want 4 people at one table. I don't want 4 people at 4 different locations throughout the restaurant. Except the price you're paying for those 4 tickets initially is the price you only get charged to NOT be seated together. So if you want 4 tickets all together on the plane, the baseline price is going to go up. And then someone else is going to come along and say "I view travel as a means of moving from Point A to B, I don't need seats all together...can you give me a better price since I'm placing less restrictions on my ticket". If you want to book 4 tickets on a flight and get 4 seats together, you have that option, just go book a flight on an airline that handles things that way. That's the beauty of flying these days...you can find someone willing to go as super basic/cheap as you want, and someone to go as over the top expensive/extravagant as you want. But it makes no sense to go super cheap and then complain you didn't get the extra service you wanted. The difference between dining and flying is that most people tend to see dining as a social event, and many see flying as a technical event (I need to go from here to here). Dining also doesn't tend to have more desirable or less desirable seating that people are willing to pay for all at the same table...whereas airlines clearly have more desirable and less desirable seating right next to one another. I don't really understand the issue with "extra fees" I guess...because without those extra fees as optional, you'd simply be paying a much higher ticket price to begin with.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Nov 22, 2019 9:34:18 GMT -5
My biggest pet peeve are those idiotic memes that show people flying in the early days of commercial air travel, and there are big seats and leg room. And then some stupid comment about how the airlines are screwing us. The tickets for air travel back then cost (depending on where you were flying) between one month and a full year of the average household income. That would be like $4,500 per seat today. If you want the luxury, you have to pay for it. If you want to fly cheap, expect low service.
My mom told me that before deregulation tickets from Phoenix to NY were $500 round trip. That was 40 years ago. I think they are like $650-ish now, and the average income has increased 5x, or something.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Nov 22, 2019 10:24:16 GMT -5
I can fly from Upstate NY to Clearwater FL for $60. I can't drive for that. I don't expect luxury service. I expect a seat somewhere in the airplane.
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Miss Tequila
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Post by Miss Tequila on Nov 22, 2019 10:29:23 GMT -5
www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/airlines-tell-parents-to-pay-up-or-risk-sitting-rows-away-from-their-kids-thats-wrong/ar-BBX2A2s?li=BBnb7KzThe article is about the problem that airlines are charging parents to reserve seats to sit with their young children. Sometimes not seating them together even with reservations. I read it and thought "Is this really a problem?". Some of the reports are about children as young as 1-3. I have a 1-year old and a 3-year old. Seat me far away from them if you want. Between the time we board and the time the plane starts to taxi, I won't have to bother the staff...anyone sitting near my kids will be begging them to change seats. If anything, I might be the one refusing to change seats to sit next to my little monsters. Are there a ton of travelers out there who WANT to keep their seat next to a random 3-year-old without their parents? I guess I just don't see how this happens where nobody is willing to trade seats, and where there are MULTIPLE people who want to sit around a child that young without their parents nearby. I see it as the parents being cheap and expecting others to trade, even though they might have paid a premium to select their seat. When I fly solo, I try to always get an aisle seat. I can't stand being stuck in the middle...and I hate the window because if I have to pee I'm climbing over people. So if someone's darling is in the middle seat, why should I have to move since I paid for my seat?
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Nov 22, 2019 10:36:19 GMT -5
www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/airlines-tell-parents-to-pay-up-or-risk-sitting-rows-away-from-their-kids-thats-wrong/ar-BBX2A2s?li=BBnb7KzThe article is about the problem that airlines are charging parents to reserve seats to sit with their young children. Sometimes not seating them together even with reservations. I read it and thought "Is this really a problem?". Some of the reports are about children as young as 1-3. I have a 1-year old and a 3-year old. Seat me far away from them if you want. Between the time we board and the time the plane starts to taxi, I won't have to bother the staff...anyone sitting near my kids will be begging them to change seats. If anything, I might be the one refusing to change seats to sit next to my little monsters. Are there a ton of travelers out there who WANT to keep their seat next to a random 3-year-old without their parents? I guess I just don't see how this happens where nobody is willing to trade seats, and where there are MULTIPLE people who want to sit around a child that young without their parents nearby. I see it as the parents being cheap and expecting others to trade, even though they might have paid a premium to select their seat. When I fly solo, I try to always get an aisle seat. I can't stand being stuck in the middle...and I hate the window because if I have to pee I'm climbing over people. So if someone's darling is in the middle seat, why should I have to move since I paid for my seat? If I got another aisle seat, I'd switch to be nice. Other than that, fuck them.
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justme
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Post by justme on Nov 22, 2019 10:40:11 GMT -5
My biggest pet peeve are those idiotic memes that show people flying in the early days of commercial air travel, and there are big seats and leg room. And then some stupid comment about how the airlines are screwing us. The tickets for air travel back then cost (depending on where you were flying) between one month and a full year of the average household income. That would be like $4,500 per seat today. If you want the luxury, you have to pay for it. If you want to fly cheap, expect low service. My mom told me that before deregulation tickets from Phoenix to NY were $500 round trip. That was 40 years ago. I think they are like $650-ish now, and the average income has increased 5x, or something. Yup. Essentially the "flying back in the day" is the equivalent of First Class now. It's just that back then every seat was first class and now airlines have introduced cheaper seats.
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hoops902
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Post by hoops902 on Nov 22, 2019 10:50:05 GMT -5
www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/airlines-tell-parents-to-pay-up-or-risk-sitting-rows-away-from-their-kids-thats-wrong/ar-BBX2A2s?li=BBnb7KzThe article is about the problem that airlines are charging parents to reserve seats to sit with their young children. Sometimes not seating them together even with reservations. I read it and thought "Is this really a problem?". Some of the reports are about children as young as 1-3. I have a 1-year old and a 3-year old. Seat me far away from them if you want. Between the time we board and the time the plane starts to taxi, I won't have to bother the staff...anyone sitting near my kids will be begging them to change seats. If anything, I might be the one refusing to change seats to sit next to my little monsters. Are there a ton of travelers out there who WANT to keep their seat next to a random 3-year-old without their parents? I guess I just don't see how this happens where nobody is willing to trade seats, and where there are MULTIPLE people who want to sit around a child that young without their parents nearby. I see it as the parents being cheap and expecting others to trade, even though they might have paid a premium to select their seat. When I fly solo, I try to always get an aisle seat. I can't stand being stuck in the middle...and I hate the window because if I have to pee I'm climbing over people. So if someone's darling is in the middle seat, why should I have to move since I paid for my seat? I'm not saying you should, or should have to. I'm saying I find it difficult to understand how it wouldn't get resolved pretty quickly, because I can't imagine anyone wanting to sit next to someone else's unattended young child.
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Miss Tequila
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Post by Miss Tequila on Nov 22, 2019 12:10:12 GMT -5
I see it as the parents being cheap and expecting others to trade, even though they might have paid a premium to select their seat. When I fly solo, I try to always get an aisle seat. I can't stand being stuck in the middle...and I hate the window because if I have to pee I'm climbing over people. So if someone's darling is in the middle seat, why should I have to move since I paid for my seat? If I got another aisle seat, I'd switch to be nice. Other than that, fuck them. Oh, I would definitely switch if I could get another aisle seat.
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souldoubt
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Post by souldoubt on Nov 22, 2019 12:59:23 GMT -5
My issue is earlier this year we went on a trip we booked 3-4 months in advance, had our seats selected and assigned at that time. On the flight out we had different seats but we were still together. On the flight back before boarding I realized we weren't the only ones who were moved and separated because families in particular were giving it to the people working the gate. My wife ended up being sat next to a woman who was traveling with the woman I was sitting with so we switched. In briefly talking with them they too had booked months in advance and selected seats that were together. The people working the gate said they had nothing to do with it and it's the airline which I don't doubt. I just don't understand how it gets messed up like that even if it has to do with people who didn't pay for or select seats. It wasn't even a matter of them moving people to accommodate families they had people sitting all over the plane to the point it seems like that took more work rather than just give the people who had assigned seats their seat then assigning the rest.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Nov 22, 2019 14:20:40 GMT -5
My issue is earlier this year we went on a trip we booked 3-4 months in advance, had our seats selected and assigned at that time. On the flight out we had different seats but we were still together. On the flight back before boarding I realized we weren't the only ones who were moved and separated because families in particular were giving it to the people working the gate. My wife ended up being sat next to a woman who was traveling with the woman I was sitting with so we switched. In briefly talking with them they too had booked months in advance and selected seats that were together. The people working the gate said they had nothing to do with it and it's the airline which I don't doubt. I just don't understand how it gets messed up like that even if it has to do with people who didn't pay for or select seats. It wasn't even a matter of them moving people to accommodate families they had people sitting all over the plane to the point it seems like that took more work rather than just give the people who had assigned seats their seat then assigning the rest. Maybe someone dropped the punch cards and didn't reorder them properly, so when they tried to compile the data, it was a mess. **This joke is for people over 55 years old, and even then, only some will get it. 😜
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Nov 22, 2019 15:45:00 GMT -5
You could do that when my kids were little, but up to age 2 they would also fly for free. And up to 12 years kids would have full priviledges but fly half price.
Only once was the plane so full that we had our youngest - age 1- on our lap for the entire trip (intercontinental so not short) and even then the flight attendants helped out a lot.
What has always baffled me is that airlines are allowed to overbook. They claim it is because they would lose money otherwise But, if you have a ticket that cannot be changed they already received the money for that seat → they are not out of any money and this overbooking scam just allows them to sell the same item twice and tell one of the "lucky recipients" of a ticket tough luck. This should be 100% illegal IMO
They compensate. Not great, but they usually get volunteers to get off and take an additional free flight at a later time. You see, that is just the point: if I book a flight I want to fly to my destination not get some type of "compensation". They have already taken my money and now I think they need to live up to their obligation. But that is just me...
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Nov 22, 2019 16:38:09 GMT -5
They compensate. Not great, but they usually get volunteers to get off and take an additional free flight at a later time. You see, that is just the point: if I book a flight I want to fly to my destination not get some type of "compensation". They have already taken my money and now I think they need to live up to their obligation. But that is just me... The vast majority of the time they get volunteers and don't have to force someone. I will ask my friend that was a gate agent for many years. But I think he told me he only had to screw someone over once, because they always got volunteers. I have volunteered. I got a free flight out of it, and went to visit my friend. It was basically a free vacation. And, in reality, have you done repeat business with a company that hasn't hosted you at least once. Corporations are not perfect.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Nov 22, 2019 17:05:12 GMT -5
They compensate. Not great, but they usually get volunteers to get off and take an additional free flight at a later time. You see, that is just the point: if I book a flight I want to fly to my destination not get some type of "compensation". They have already taken my money and now I think they need to live up to their obligation. But that is just me... Once upon a time, the compensation was good for volunteering for flights. I think that one of the the last times I did it, I was bumped up to first class and I received my entire ticket price back in the form of a check. But over the last 15 years ago. It got to the point where you'd get a flight voucher for a certain amount of money, which expired in 6 months and if you couldn't use it, you were SOL. The last time I received this, I was up to my ass in alligators at work, so flew my sister down to see me on the voucher before it expired. Flights after that, the compensation really was not worth my loss of time, so I passed on them.
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